Patten was then appointed the last governor of Hong Kong, to oversee the final years of British administration in the colony and prepare for its transfer to China in 1997.

During his tenure, his government significantly expanded the territory's social welfare programmes and introduced democratic reforms to the electoral system.

Patten grew up in an Irish Catholic family in west London, the son of an unsuccessful music publisher whose ancestors had come to England from County Roscommon, Ireland.

After graduating with a second-class honours degree in 1965 and winning a William Coolidge Pathfinder Award[9][10][11] travelling scholarship to the US,[12][13][14][15] Patten worked for the campaign of then-Republican New York Mayor John Lindsay, where he reported on the television performance of rival William F. Buckley Jr.[16] He worked for the Conservative Party from 1966,[citation needed] first as desk officer and then director (from 1974 to 1979) of the Conservative Research Department.

Though he robustly defended the policy at the time, in his 2006 book Not Quite the Diplomat (published in the United States as Cousins and Strangers: America, Britain and Europe in the New Century) he claims to have thought it was a mistake on Margaret Thatcher's part.

LegCo members returned in 1995 were originally to serve beyond the Handover, thereby providing institutional continuity across the transition of Hong Kong to the PRC.

[28] In 1999, he was appointed as one of the United Kingdom's two members to the European Commission as Commissioner for External Relations where he was responsible for the Union's development and co-operation programmes, as well as liaison with Javier Solana, the High Representative of the Common Foreign and Security Policy.

[29] According to information from the US Embassy in Brussels (published by WikiLeaks in November 2010): Patten said in April 2004 that Russian President Vladimir Putin has done a good job for Russia mainly due to high world energy prices, but he had serious doubts about the man's character.

"He seems a completely reasonable man when discussing the Middle East or energy policy, but when the conversation shifts to Chechnya or Islamic extremism, Putin's eyes turn to those of a killer."

[31][32][33] The election of his successor (The Lord Hague of Richmond), to a ten-year term, was scheduled to take place in late October and early November.

[35] On the advice of the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition government led by Prime Minister David Cameron, Patten was appointed by the Queen-in-Council as Chairman of the BBC Trust, and he took office on 1 May 2011, in the place of Sir Michael Lyons whose contract was not renewed.

It came, however, immediately in the wake of widespread criticism of the BBC's live outside-broadcast coverage of the Queen's Diamond Jubilee River Pageant on 3 June 2012, which was castigated in the press and was the subject of 1,830 formal complaints by viewers.

"[37] Patten submitted his letter of resignation as BBC Trust Chairman to the Secretary of State on 6 May 2014; citing health reasons following his heart bypass surgery on 28 April.

Patten bemoaned the fact that much of the corporation's high-brow programming had been moved to BBC Four, the digital channel, and given low budgets that meant shows were "sometimes made with glue and string".

In a speech on the future of the BBC, which he said was "one of this country's greatest institutions", Patten called on ministers to respect the "besieged" broadcaster's independence, and set in place measures to stop it becoming "the plaything of the government of the day".

Many international lawyers argue that the incarceration of over one million Muslim Uyghurs, forced sterilisation and abortion, and slave labour meet the UN definition of genocide.

He also added that Britain and other countries were not against the Chinese nation or people, praising China's medical workers who first responded to the virus, but stated "It is our relationship with the dangerous and immoral Communist Party.

[43] During an interview with The Wall Street Journal in 2013, he expressed the belief the Government of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region would inevitably give citizens a greater say in public policy.

In an interview with the Financial Times, he stated "In a system of rule of law, judges are independent and should not be questioned for instructions or forced to abandon their views on procedural fairness and what is legal due to certain political considerations."

He said that if Hong Kongers believe that the Sino-British Joint Declaration has been undermined, it is completely reasonable to express concerns to China and Britain and lodge a peaceful protest.

[45][46] In a 2014 article for the Financial Times, Patten argued the British government should not stay silent on China interfering with Hong Kong's judiciary and politics, arguing that the UK had a moral and political responsibility to speak out on the issue of universal suffrage in Hong Kong and ensure that China fulfilled its promises in the Sino-British Joint Declaration, reiterating that the agreement was international.

[43] While commenting on the Umbrella Revolution protests in 2014, Patten called on the SAR government to conduct real consultation on political reform issues and engage in dialogue with the protestors.

[47] In November 2014, Patten gave evidence to a hearing of the Foreign Affairs Select Committee on the implementation of the "Sino-British Joint Declaration" in Hong Kong.

Patten argued that Hong Kong's problem is a serious lack of leadership and the chief executive and the SAR government have the ability to pressure and convince demonstrators to negotiate, temporarily end protest, and return to school or work.

Citing words by Joshua Wong, Patten believed that young Hong Kong people are afraid of having their future stolen.

He also addressed the Causeway Bay Books disappearances, saying he was saddened such an incident had happened in Hong Kong and asked why the international community paid so little attention.

[54] In March 2023, Patten was one of 47 British lawmakers to sign an open letter urging the Hong Kong authorities to release Claudia Mo on humanitarian grounds to visit her critically ill husband in hospital.

[59] In 2014 Pope Francis appointed Patten to head a body to advise the Vatican on media strategy and on how to handle the press, which he remained on until 2016.

[60] Patten is portrayed the video game Hong Kong 97 as ordering Chin, an unspecified relative of Bruce Lee, to massacre the entire population of mainland China.

[64][65] In November 2016 Patten was made a Commander of the Legion of Honour, and was presented with the insignia by Sylvie Bermann, the French ambassador to the United Kingdom, at Kensington Palace Gardens.